Something I've been pondering

[MX-727]

I'd just finished reading an interview with Heath Voss. I was really struck by how hard some of these privateers have to work to try and make it.

So, I hatched an idea that's been nagging at me for about a month. There are 16 supercross races. We are approaching 7000 members. If we could get 5000 members to pony up $1/race or $16 each, DRN could provide $80,000 in sponsorship to a deserving rider, or spread that money between a couple of riders.

Imagine going to a race and knowing that you were a sponsor for one of the riders out there. Imagine meeting that rider and think of his appreciation.

I know that some are going to say this unworkable, and maybe we can't get 5000 members to pony up $1 per race, but this really seems like the right thing for this group of fans.

So, how much of a dreamer am I? :confused:

 

[VintageDirt]

Not a bad idea. Unless you really expect total participation.

Count me in.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Good idea.

That would be fun. Even if only 500 participate, that would generate $8,000 which would be a BIG boost to a privateer and should get prominent DRN sticker exposure.

How do we pick the rider? Are high ranking guys like Heath Voss eligible?

 

[mx547]

the slackers at freshdirt/mxworld are already sponsoring riders in this manner.
on a sidenote regarding heath voss; husky rider jason thomas stated on another board that the reason voss is still a privateer is because voss will not accept a ride unless it is factory honda. he has had other offers.

 

[TwinSpar]

A rider sponsored by DRN Members... Cool Idea! :cool:

Implementation might be a bit tough given that we would need to settle on one rider but who knows... stranger things have happened.

 

[bwalker]

on a sidenote regarding heath voss; husky rider jason thomas stated on another board that the reason voss is still a privateer is because voss will not accept a ride unless it is factory honda. he has had other offers.

Sounds like Voss is pretty smart.;)

 

[Patman]

Cool!:cool:

We have one working his way up. To have one in the ranks would be cool too.

 

[oldguy]

Great idea I would love to get involved in this type of effort.

Tommy Hofmaster comes to mind as a possibility. He has been placing right around 15th regularly in 125SX and is just a hair away every week from qualifying for the 250's. Wardy knows his family pretty good and I would think he'd be pretty happy with the help.
Maybe we can pull it off for Nationals.

 

[slo' mo]

count me in on this deal. How cool would it be to hear some rider mention his DRN sponsor on the podium :cool:

 

[RazorbackDave]

Count me in too. It's like going to a horse race. It's always more interesting if you have some $ in it.

 

[IDkTm]

I'm a big Jason McCromick fan. He has done well in 125 SX this year and has won outdoor national motos before. Also I heard that Scott Sheak is coming home to America for a national ride, maybe him? It's to bad Michael Byrne is going back to Australia after the Supercross series, he'd be a great canidate.

 

[MX-727]

Heath was just an example. I also thought of Hofmaster because Wardy is close to him. As long as we sponsored someone who actually is posting good results, I wouldn't care who it was. Maybe Okie should have the final say.

On a side note, I did meet Heath and his mom today. Nice people. They work hard to keep him on the track.

 

[dirt bike dave]

I like the fact that Hofmaster and McCormack (sp?) go for it in both SX classes. That's really cool and fits well with the 'working man's hero' theme. But it would also be great to have somebody who regularly makes the 250 main but could use that little extra boost.

Lots of good candidates mentioned already - maybe a DRN poll is in order.

 

[RM_guy]

Pretty cool idea, count me in :)

 

[MX265]

Awsome idea. You've got my support. I am kind of thinking Jason Thomas or Heath Voss. Either way, it's a great idea. Maybe a set of DRN fender stickers could be put on the riders bike too. Then we can get the DRN Semi. (OK maybe not the semi) :D

Andy

 

[buffmaster]

Killer idea! Count me in! I was reading a story about Voss in one of the mags and it struck as to how hard it has to be to do what he's doing w/out a sponsorship. Factory riders just have to show up(all right, the DO work their butts off and if they slack off, they lose their ride) while privateers have to come up almost everything by themselves. But, where do we choose from? I mean, there's SX, Arena Cross, Nationals, Enduro's and other off-roads. And then do we go for 125's or 250's or both? I'd LOVE to help out an up-and-comer, but which one?

 

[BBB]

Maybe a set of DRN fender stickers could be put on the riders bike too

I think DRN should match the DRN members donation, (to some extent anyway) if they want thier stickers on a bike in that instance. That would seem a good way to help a racer in need AND give DRN more advertising bang for their buck.

 

[JPIVEY]

I maybe wrong but I thought DRN members is DRN.

either way count me in for the support

 

[oldguy]

Originally posted by BBB


I think DRN should match the DRN members donation, (to some extent anyway) if they want thier stickers on a bike in that instance. That would seem a good way to help a racer in need AND give DRN more advertising bang for their buck.

That wopuld be great if Okie was making a ton of money on the site but in reality it is a self sustaining at best endeavor. Also don't forget the out of pocket expenses he faces putting on the Spodefest- the $10/15 bucks a day we pay doesn't really cover much more than a token commitment by each attendee. Pivey is correct DRN is the members.

 

[BBB]

Well I was unaware of that, and was under the impression that this site charges for its advertising dollars, and was a 'for profit' site. (which is cool with me, Im all for free enterprise) If this is a self sustaining only site that is a whole different thing, and I would be all for freebie adverts for DRN. Only the Fed and the owners of this site know for sure if this site is a push, or making black ink.

 

[MXbabe]

Sounds pretty cool. If it came down to a few riders we could have a vote on the site (like we do with the surveys). Majority wins! That way we decide whom we want to sponsor. ;)

 

[angry jim]

I don't care who the rider is, as long as he's not an ungrateful punk! I trust the judgement of the people here to make a good choice.

 

[MX-727]

Well, it seems that there is definitely support for this idea. I would push for supercross or both supercross and nationals. It'd be nice to get a guy in the 250's or one that runs both. I have no idea how much it costs to get the sponsorship on the front fenders, but we know our stickers look trick :)

So, how do we go about putting something like this together? Okie? The pay-pal seems like it would be the best way to collect the money, but we'd need to be sure we could get enough participation to make it worthwhile. Seems like this would be a good time of year to start working on getting the money together for next year.

Maybe we need a sticky poll here or in the General Forum.

 

[JPIVEY]

Originally posted by KX - 727
Well, it seems that there is definitely support for this idea[/QUOTE

Don't take this wrong because I do support this idea 100%, but 24 possitive reply is a long way from the support you need to pull this off and next season is upon us now. you need funds, rider(s),bike(s) set up identically,and a mechanical support team.

or maybe I'm just being a wet blanket, anyway I'm all for it

 

[TwinSpar]

I don't think we are talking about a full on DRN supported ride, just some additional $ to help a privateer out.